The last four city departments presented their budget requests to Springfield aldermen during Monday's budget workshop.

With the exception of the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, the mayor's office, the Office of Budget and Management and human resources asked for less money than what they requested last year. Mayor Jim Langfelder has proposed $3.7 million in cuts to help dig into a possible $11.4 million revenue shortfall.

Ward 1 Ald. Chuck Redpath asked the mayor for his thoughts on merging the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau with the Bank of Springfield Center, an idea raised by one of the center's board members last week. The SCVB budget does not receive general revenue funds, but rather gets all of its money through about 3 percent of the city's 7 percent hotel-motel bed tax.

Merging the two would not solve the city's budget hole, though Langfelder said he was open to discussing it if that would mean getting rid of one of the taxing bodies. The BOS Center gets $2 million a year in property taxes from the areas of Capital, Woodside and Springfield townships and is overseen by an elected, non-salaried, 11-member board.

"The convention center is in somewhat competition with the hotel groups because they have convention space, so that something we need to be cognizant of," Langfelder said.

The SCVB has six open positions, including one for a director. Gina Gemberling, the previous director, left Jan. 17 to take a job in Little Rock, Arkansas. Langfelder said the search for a new director will only happen after the budget is finalized in March. In the meantime, deputy mayor Bonnie Drew has been working half days at the SCVB, and the agency has leaned on HIP Advertising, a digital and media marketing agency that will help the city through Illinois' Bicentennial.

The bureau's budget includes $100,000 to remake the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices, a historic building where Abraham Lincoln practiced law with his partner William Herndon, into a satellite SCVB office. The building on the southeast corner of Old Capitol Plaza is owned by the state and has been closed since state budget problems began. Langfelder hopes to reopen the building, though is still negotiating with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Because of the capital improvements and contract with HIP Advertising, the SCVB's budget is about 1.6 percent more than last year's.

The city must pass a balanced budget by the beginning of the fiscal year on March 1. In an interview, budget director Bill McCarty said that aldermen were in the "information-gathering" stage and now will begin to collaborate with the city.

"What the mayor doesn't want to happen is ... a repeat of last year (when) it was just, 'No, we don't want to do any of that and we don't have any ideas on how to cut,'" McCarty said. "What the mayor is looking for this year is true collaboration."

Langfelder has proposed increasing the sales tax rate from 8.5 percent to 8.75 percent and raising the telecommunication tax from 4 percent to 6 percent. Passing both taxes would mean an additional $5.5 million annually in city coffers.

"I'm sure behind the scenes they are starting to formulate some suggestions, formulate some ideas," McCarty said. "Maybe they are already formulating some opinion on the revenue the mayor has proposed or cuts the mayor has proposed. All of that will come to light very, very soon."

The Office of Budget and Management, which McCarty runs, is asking for about 10 percent less than last year. Part of the decrease is connected to the planned closure of the city's auto body shop in November, when the last of the city's mechanics retires. McCarty said an analysis of mechanics' productivity showed they were busy only 40 percent of the time, which bolstered the idea the work should be outsourced.

The only department with a layoff, instead of eliminating a vacancy, is human resources, according to its director Jim Kuizin. His proposed budget is 5 percent less than last year.

The mayor's office proposed a budget that was about 3.5 percent less than last year. Three positions within the mayor's office will move from full-time to part-time, and city attorney Jim Zerkle has asked for one less attorney than years prior.

About $250,000 of the city attorney's staff would be paid for by City Water, Light and Power for shared services. CWLP also would be paying about $80,000 toward the salaries of the mayor and deputy mayor, who helped the utility renegotiate contracts in absence of a general manager.

Ward 8 Ald. Kris Theilen asked for the municipal band, which costs the city $56,000, to instead be funded through corporate sponsorship. Drew said the city has received almost $50,000 in donations for the band.

Though Monday was the last of the four budget workshops, the public can comment on the proposed budget or ask the city council questions during Tuesday's Committee of the Whole meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the city council chamber.

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